My first day of work was filled with mixed feelings. It started with the excitement that the job opportunity induced. It was followed soon after by apprehension caused by wondering whether I would be able to perform competently. Eventually all this was replaced by intense nervousness when I realized that I did not know the route to anywhere in Nairobi. This was with the exception of the route the buses from my village took when taking us to the city.
I can vividly remember my first client. She was a black American living in a Nairobi suburb know as Loresho. It was the very first time that I deviated from my usual route. One of my colleagues had taken instruction from the control room. He had then explained to me patiently how I was going to get there. He had told me a bit about the client and how she liked to be handled. This came in very handy when I picked her and I was able to strike a good rapport with her. I had learnt an important lesson in customer care - that it is useful to get some background information of a customer before meeting.
That first assignment as a taxi driver went very well, but it was too short. I dropped my client in thirty minutes during which we had chatted like old friends. I drove back to base and waited. The endless stories which never ended were a good way to kill the time as we waited for the next client. That was the time I learnt how to multitask. I would be talking, listening to the stories, listening to the radio call, and looking out for walk-by clients, all at the same time.
We respected each other as colleagues, but we were in stiff competition with each other. The reason for this was that we were not paid a salary. Instead,we earned a commission which was 20% of all money collected less the expenses such as fuel and parking fees. This meant that each day was different in terms of earnings. On some days one could make a lot of money while on others, even raising money for bus fare was a big problem.
In those first days, I learnt to distinguish a potential client by the way he or she walked or looked. I also learnt the art of diverting the attention of other drivers if I spotted a client from far off and wanted him to come close before striking while the rest were still glued to my story. This,in addition to my growing database of the places I knew helped me to adopt to the job albeit too slowly.
While initially my colleagues were helpful, they eventually got back to concentrating on earning their commissions. The outcome of this was that few were willing to give me directions to new places that I was sent to. The worst of it all however, was when some of them would intentionally misdirect me so that I get lost. They would then offer to get the client - and the commission. Meanwhile, I would be left with extra kilometers covered with no money. This situation used to be referred to as a "bounce"
Despite the hardships, I soldiered on. I, the village boy, was finally in the big city and I was going to make things work. The amazing thing was that I never once considered quitting. Things were hard and the working hours were crazy. We had 24 hour shifts. We would report at around 8 a.m. in the morning, work the whole day - and the whole night - and leave the following day at around 9 a.m. Consequently, every car had two drivers - except my red car. Nobody else could stand to drive that car and any new recruits could only drive it for one day before quitting. In those first days, I was the only one who could drive and park as I wanted. The issues about that red car were so many that it has to be a story for another day.
I started working three days before pay day. I was therefore able to proudly accumulate a commission of one thousand seven hundred Kenya shillings for three days work. When I got my money, I went straight to our local market where I bought two second hand jackets to wear to work during the chilly nights. I was also able to fit brand new soles to my faithful shoes. I didn't feel like a villager anymore.
I can vividly remember my first client. She was a black American living in a Nairobi suburb know as Loresho. It was the very first time that I deviated from my usual route. One of my colleagues had taken instruction from the control room. He had then explained to me patiently how I was going to get there. He had told me a bit about the client and how she liked to be handled. This came in very handy when I picked her and I was able to strike a good rapport with her. I had learnt an important lesson in customer care - that it is useful to get some background information of a customer before meeting.
That first assignment as a taxi driver went very well, but it was too short. I dropped my client in thirty minutes during which we had chatted like old friends. I drove back to base and waited. The endless stories which never ended were a good way to kill the time as we waited for the next client. That was the time I learnt how to multitask. I would be talking, listening to the stories, listening to the radio call, and looking out for walk-by clients, all at the same time.
We respected each other as colleagues, but we were in stiff competition with each other. The reason for this was that we were not paid a salary. Instead,we earned a commission which was 20% of all money collected less the expenses such as fuel and parking fees. This meant that each day was different in terms of earnings. On some days one could make a lot of money while on others, even raising money for bus fare was a big problem.
In those first days, I learnt to distinguish a potential client by the way he or she walked or looked. I also learnt the art of diverting the attention of other drivers if I spotted a client from far off and wanted him to come close before striking while the rest were still glued to my story. This,in addition to my growing database of the places I knew helped me to adopt to the job albeit too slowly.
While initially my colleagues were helpful, they eventually got back to concentrating on earning their commissions. The outcome of this was that few were willing to give me directions to new places that I was sent to. The worst of it all however, was when some of them would intentionally misdirect me so that I get lost. They would then offer to get the client - and the commission. Meanwhile, I would be left with extra kilometers covered with no money. This situation used to be referred to as a "bounce"
Despite the hardships, I soldiered on. I, the village boy, was finally in the big city and I was going to make things work. The amazing thing was that I never once considered quitting. Things were hard and the working hours were crazy. We had 24 hour shifts. We would report at around 8 a.m. in the morning, work the whole day - and the whole night - and leave the following day at around 9 a.m. Consequently, every car had two drivers - except my red car. Nobody else could stand to drive that car and any new recruits could only drive it for one day before quitting. In those first days, I was the only one who could drive and park as I wanted. The issues about that red car were so many that it has to be a story for another day.
I started working three days before pay day. I was therefore able to proudly accumulate a commission of one thousand seven hundred Kenya shillings for three days work. When I got my money, I went straight to our local market where I bought two second hand jackets to wear to work during the chilly nights. I was also able to fit brand new soles to my faithful shoes. I didn't feel like a villager anymore.
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